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The House Judiciary Committee yesterday released a report ahead of today’s impeachment hearing laying out historical arguments for impeachment. 

The report does not accuse President Trump of committing impeachable offences, but it lays the groundwork for today’s hearing, where evidence against Trump will be presented by the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees, as well as the possible introduction of articles of impeachment next week. 

“The Framers worst nightmare is what we are facing in this very moment,” House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said in a statement. “President Trump abused his power, betrayed our national security, and corrupted our elections, all for personal gain. The Constitution details only one remedy for this misconduct: impeachment. The safety and security of our nation, our democracy, and future generations hang in the balance if we do not address this misconduct. In America, no one is above the law, not even the President.”

The report is an update to the Judiciary Committee reports that were issued in 1974 and 1998 during the impeachment proceedings of Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.

“The earlier reports remain useful points of reference, but no longer reflect the best available learning on questions relating to presidential impeachment,” Nadler wrote in a forward introducing the report. 

“Further, they do not address several issues of constitutional law with particular relevance to the ongoing impeachment inquiry respecting President Donald J. Trump.”

With sources telling CNN a vote in the Judiciary Committee to impeach President Trump expected as soon as this week, House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler yesterday told CNN’s “State of the Union” he sees the Ukraine evidence as part of “a pattern” of conduct by President Trump.

Nadler would not commit to including the evidence of obstruction of justice included in the Mueller report as part of the articles of impeachment.

Trump has denied he obstructed justice.

He said decisions on exactly what will be included in the articles of impeachment will be made after Monday’s Judiciary Committee hearing in which evidence from the Intelligence Committee will be presented.

“We’re going to have to take a lot of considerations into account. What is the level of proof of the various allegations. How do they relate to each other? What is the level of support in our caucus and in the House for them? What we might persuade the Senate of. All of these things have to be taken into account, realising again that the central allegation, it’s all of a pattern,” Nadler told CNN Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”

But when pressed on why one would not assume the Mueller evidence being included given his statements regarding a pattern of behavior by Trump, Nadler responded “I wouldn’t draw any conclusions. It is part of the pattern.” 

The chairman said he did not have doubts about the strength of the evidence that Democrats have that prove impeachable offences were committed and when asked if it was confident it showed the President directing some of the activities he said “yes, yes . . . we have a very rock solid case.” Nadler said if it was presented to a jury “it would be a guilty verdict in three minutes flat.” — Al Jazeera